One of the best tools I know to keep me happy and thriving in my business; having lots of free time for myself and my family; AND living like the Goddess CEO/wife/mother that I know myself to be…is my calendar!

Most often, if it’s not on my calendar, then it doesn’t happen.

So I tend to be pretty obsessive about calendarizing just about everything that’s a priority for me.

And not just the business stuff like client sessions, marketing, attending networking events and daily money tracking.

But all the personal stuff that lights me up: daily meditation, yoga classes, date nights with my husband, afternoon fun with my son, weekend hikes with my family, a weekly Skype call with a dear friend, vacations, quarterly self-love days, cleaning out my garage like I did last weekend, and so on.

​I know, I know. Some of you may think ​too much on the calendar can sound constricting or rigid.

In fact, it can be just the opposite… liberating and freeing you up to focus and do ONLY the things that light you up!

Here are a few simple tips to have your calendar be a trusted tool for creating what you really want in your business and life.

​1) Remember, you’re the boss. Have the mindset that YOU are in charge of your calendar and get to choose how you spend your time.

So it’s not about being a slave to your calendar. If you notice you’ve over-scheduled yourself one week, you have the power to change it and make it work for YOU!

Time is the only thing we ALL have in equal measure–unlike money, education and opportunities, which are wide and varied among all the diverse people on this planet.

But we all have access to the same amount of time. We all have 24 hours in a day, 365 days in the year or “five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes” as the song goes! Yet, most of us walk around feeling time-starved.

2) Review your calendar at the beginning of each week. (Or you may find it works better for you to review your next week’s calendar at the end of a week.)

With the mindset of you’re the boss and in charge of what’s on your calendar, you’ll want to review it regularly and make sure that what’s there is still what you want to be doing. Here are some questions you can ask:

Do I LOVE what I see?

What adjustments need to be made?

Is there something on there to reschedule or let go of completely?

What would make an important activity that I don’t enjoy doing (like bill paying or marketing) more FUN for me?

What support do I need?

Bonus Tip: Put your weekly calendar review time on your calendar! Set a recurring appointment with yourself and take these 15-20 game-changing minutes each week to be the boss of your time.

3) Use your calendar to manifest what you want in your business and life.

One of the secrets I learned early on in my business is when you want to create something–whether that’s more clients, money or speaking engagements–is to get ready for it as if you are certain it’s going to happen. “Dig ditches,” as the saying goes.

So I started scheduling client appointments in my calendar–even before they signed on with me or I even knew who they were! And what I noticed is that once I created space for them in my calendar and confidently acted as if it was happening, new clients showed up to fill those spots I had blocked out just for them.

This works for everything. Want more speaking engagements? Schedule them in. Want more self-care days? Schedule it. More vacations? Schedule it, even if you’re not sure yet where the money is going to come from.

Because your brain doesn’t know the difference between what’s real or not, your subconscious will get to work fulfilling what you desire. And your calendar will serve as that visual reminder and reinforcement for the business and life you truly want to create.

Here’s to doing MORE of the things that light you up, so you are free to shine like the radiant rockstar you are!

About Rebecca Massoud

Rebecca Massoud, founder of SHINE, is an award-winning business success coach and marketing mentor for soul-inspired women entrepreneurs. She believes it's time for you to move beyond what holds you back in marketing your business and bringing your unique message to the world, so that, individually, you can create an amazing income and amazing joy in your work, and, collectively, we can create an amazing impact.